Rohne | Lausitz: Singing for the last green oasis in the open-cast mine

Where there was once a forest, there is now only fallow land as far as the eye can see. Dead wood bears witness to the trees that were felled here. In the midst of the climate crisis, a forest had to make way for coal mining. The Leag company is expanding its Nochten open-cast mine in northeastern Saxony toward the villages of Rohne and Nochten. But a small forest still exists in the middle of the coal mining area. There flies a flag of the Green League, a network of environmental groups. The environmentalists have leased the forest from the owner .

Since April, the environmentalists have been hosting cultural events there once a month. The reason: The small forest is threatened with expropriation and deforestation for open-cast mining on January 1, 2026, as decided by the Saxon Mining Authority. The owners have filed a lawsuit against this. A decision by the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court is expected in August. The events are a form of resistance.

On Sunday, it's that time again. Around 20 people are waiting at Schleife station for cars that will take them to the wooded area. It's only 1.5 kilometers away from here. "But LEAG has forbidden us from accessing this route through their property. So we have to take a detour of almost nine kilometers to get to our property," says Theo, who is driving one of the cars.

Visitors can see with their own eyes how nature is being destroyed here in Northern Saxony. Signs reading "Danger to Life" warn against entering the open-cast mine site. Only where the Green League flag flies do mosses, lichens, and small plants still flourish. One tree fell during the last storm.

But the area is tightly enclosed by a fence. On the other side, the mining area begins. There are no more trees there. On Sunday, the large excavators and other coal mining equipment are idle. Only a constant whirring can be heard. It comes from a large pipe that regulates the water supply to the open-cast mine. In the distance, the sound of a system can be heard regularly spraying the sand with water to prevent it from drying out completely. "When there was still forest here, such measures weren't necessary," says an elderly visitor from the region.

There are three cultural performances this Sunday. Artist Maja Nagel will exhibit some of her large charcoal drawings, which, transferred onto large plastic banners, can be viewed as an open-air exhibition among the trees of the forest. They depict people in nature.

Singer-songwriter Paul Geigerzähler performed some of his protest songs. He sang more than a third in Sorbian, the language found on every street sign between Cottbus and Bautzen. Geigerzähler is himself Sorbian and was born in Bautzen.

Author and filmmaker Grit Lemke read from her bestseller "The Children of Hoy" about life in the town that, in the GDR, stood for coal mining and energy production. Lemke read for exactly 30 minutes about life in the town, where everything revolved around the Schwarze Pumpe gas combine. Right at the beginning, she admitted that little thought was given to the ecological consequences of coal mining and processing at the time. Further events are planned until September.